Counter the comedown of Adderall

[the420htplateau]

what is the best method to counter an adderall come down? I'm going to ask my doc about benzos, (klonopen, xanax) because i hear they are fairly safe and CAN counter it but im not sure. Also how safe is tylenol pm (diphenhydradramine and acetaphetamine) to sleep after taking adderall? this comedown is hell! i hate these migranes, and the i get really mad at stupid things and just want to be alone.....other than that it is a wonder drug. I for once in my life balance every single one of my tasks and one suffer. (without it if i focus on one thing, the other suffers, never can seem to get it all done, so ill have cleaning days, and work days, and family days, and computer days) id think that 30 mg adderall at 10 am, and a low dose of klonopen like at 4 would be safe........feedback please

[Tara]

Maybe talk to your Dr about ADDerall XR or a different type of medication.

Let him/her know in detail what you are going through. Maybe even write it down and bring it with you on your next appointment. There could also be some co-existing conditon that also needs to me treated.

I noticed the 420 in your name. If you are smoking Marijuana that could contribute to things too.

[Chinch]

you seem like the guy from dextroverse IRC. maybe not.

anyways, for the "comedown" it depends on what you're talking about really. i would say there are a few points to the comedown.

- insomnia
- loss of energy, start getting tired
- depression or mood lowers

benzos would only help for the first one, they would make the second two worse. also, benzos are usually not prescribed with stimulants because the drugs are exact opposites in their mechanism of action.

so they defeat the purpose of one another. if you WERE to take a benzo, it would probably have to be xanax because of its short half life (around 8 hours). if you were to take klonopin or valium, those have extremely long half lives (50-100hrs), and they would basically cancel out any adderall you would take for the next several days.

even taking xanax at night would probably make the adderall you take the next day not work.

doctors probably won't do that anyways, because it puts the body into too much shock, going WAY up, the WAY down. (brain chemical levels). this is a good way to throw your body into bipolar tendencies or something.

if you take adderall on a daily basis (and not recreational one), these effects go away. when i first started taking it, i couldn't fall asleep until daylight the next morning. i also couldn't eat a bite of food. now, i can fall asleep by 1 or 2am and i can eat 2 normal meals a day. the side effects go away within time.

[Vero]

I was recommended to try DHA to counter the rebound effect. It is a perfectly harmless herbal - it's found naturally in breastmilk and formula companies are now adding it to baby formula. It's helps in promoting brain function and seems to complement my Strattera well. I don't get so lethargic during the daytime as before. I also have a friend on dexadrine who takes DHA and it helps him with the rebound too.

[Gregster]

I'd talk to your doctor about perhaps trying a different drug or delivery system if you are having such problems. Most Drs wouldn't give you something like Xanax to counter the effects of another drug in the long term. I would also stay away from the Tylenol PM as a long term solution - particularly because of the acetominaphen (sp?) - it's not good for your liver in large or long term doses.
Regards,
Greg

[jimfish]

I take between 20 and 30 mg's of adderall a day; 20 mg XR and 10 tablet if necessary. I have been taking this for over three years with different amt.s of MG's.
I take atenolol(tenormin) b/c it helps relieve some of the irritation that comes when the adderall wears off. Also, the adderall doesn't work as well for me as it used to and I am thinking about adding an ssri such as lexapro, paxil, remeron, buspar, or one of the like; do you have any suggestions and why.
I think being healthy is very important in feeling well even when adderall wears off. A B-vitamin, 5-HTP trytophan, omega 3 fatty acids(DHA), possibly other aminos are and a multivitamin are all important to take as well.
Comments?

[Gregster]

Try the Remeron if you have trouble sleeping! I love this anti-depressant. It makes me sleepy, and I sleep through the night, but I don't find myself groggy the next morning. It has good anti-anxiety properties and few sexual side effects. It will make you sleepier at 15mg than at 30mg and some people find it makes them too sleepy and stop taking it for this reason.
My $.02 worth, anyway.
Regards,
Greg

[bookwriter]

I take 20 mg adderall xr. To counter the "comedown" in the afternoon, I divide the dose....taking 15 in the morning and the other 5 at about 11:30 (about 4 hours later). The xr is a smoother process to begin with. Spacing it out is actually giving me: 15 mg for 4 hours, 20 mg for the next 4 hours, 5 mg for the next 4 hours.

This has really helped to relieve the "drop off" feeling in the afternoon. So far, it's a pretty good day, with focus in the morning, more focus mid day for writing, bookwork, etc., then, much less in evening when I don't really need it anyway.....with "smooth" transition all the way through.

Also: since I've been doing this, I have been falling to sleep so easily and sleeping sound all night.

[bookwriter]

oops! wrote that out wrong......dividing the dose is actually giving me: 7 1/2 mg for first 4 hours, 10 mg the next four, about 2 1/2 mg for the evening....because when you take the xr, only half is released at a time. Oh....how do we keep up with it all? : ) : ) : ) Anyhoo.....for the whole day I'm still just getting 20 mg.

[PatMesser]

How can you split the dose up? I thought it only came in capsule form.

[bookwriter]

Open the capsule. My son's Dr. said I could just sprinkle his on applesauce. I've done that. Also, we have a compounding pharmicist who sells us empty capsules, so I use those to make it easier. Check with your Doctor about it to see what he/she recommends.

My son is trying Strattera for the summer, so we've been weaning him off the adderall. His perscription is for 30 mg, but he's down to 10 mg a day now. I asked his Doctor to continue to write the perscription for 30 mg, because it's only about 5 more dollars......and now, it will last 3 x as long.

[PatMesser]

Thanks for the info. Hope your son does well on Straterra.Pat

[DRANSWORLD]

I use to take about 40 mgs of adderall right when I woke up in the morning. This would make me talkative and outgoing, great for learning. I then had troubles sleeping and hated the "empty hole feeling" in my chest; where one's soul should be found. I found that If I had enough of: Painkillers, Xanax, Klonopin, Marijuana, Alcohol, or even Kava Kava Tea. Then I would be fine for a harsh comedown. While this cycle may be fun, it tends to mess up your life in a few ways. Like Clinch said, what I was doing was getting way UP in the morning, and then slowly intoxicating myself from like 4:00 pm till Ten. I had to drop out of school- I messed up my relationships - and I almost ended up in rehab. So you decide. I am still prescribed adderall, and my doc has just prescribed Remeron for sleep disturbances and depression. If I had to pick one med that proved effective for long-term managment AND slightly fun; I would pick XanaX as an effective co-existing sleep aid. (or if you can get Halcion thats even better). But i doubt a doc would prescribe it...
-Drans

[AddysonsMom23]

How long have you been on adderall? The first week I took it(XR20mg) I had bad comedowns, almost to the point I was going to quit it. Then it just stopped. I have no problems now.

[bluemagic]

I normally don't have any trouble sleeping with adderall but my doc gave me remeron to counter the weight loss that adderall was doing, but if it helps my hunger I can't ever tell since the other side effects are too strong to notice anything else. even a 7.5mg dose of Remeron makes me extremely tired for an entire 48 hours, makes waking up the morning next to impossible, and it makes me really impatient, angry, and violent.. lol kind of scary actually..

but to get back on topic.. I found the best solution to adderall comedowns for me were consistent doses throughout the day instead of all the day's dose at once so I kept a stable level until it finally dropped off late at night where I could get some natural sleep. It took me almost a year to find the perfect dose & times though.